Simplify the following expression: $p = \dfrac{n^2 + 7n - 8}{n - 1} $
Explanation: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ n^2 + 7n - 8 = (n - 1)(n + 8) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $p = \dfrac{(n - 1)(n + 8)}{n - 1} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(n - 1)$ on condition that $n \neq 1$ Therefore $p = n + 8; n \neq 1$